West Yorkshire mayor's criticism for 'appalling' Arriva bus cuts causing 'misery' for commuters

Tracy Brabin says the reductions in services by the firm are causing “misery” for commuters.

Issues with Arriva’s bus services across West Yorkshire have been rumbling on for some time.

This month, changes have come into effect which see some services no longer running and others amended.

Mayor Brabin said: “It’s appalling that Arriva have cut bus services across West Yorkshire – causing misery for commuters.

“We’re doing everything we can to support passengers and find alternative providers where possible so that people’s lives aren’t disrupted.

"That’s on top of the work we’ve already done to support cheaper fares and train over 150 new drivers.

“This situation shows why our decision to bring buses back under public control was the right one.

"Profits should be reinvested into routes that work for our communities, not given to shareholders overseeing a failing company.”

West Yorkshire Combined Authority has bailed out a Dewsbury bus route which was to be axed by Arriva – the 212 which runs between Dewsbury and Wakefield.

Yorkshire Buses will now run the service, with a revised timetable in place.

The authority has also invested money to train up over 150 bus drivers through its adult education budget but only a handful went to work for Arriva.

A spokesperson for Arriva Yorkshire said: “We have recently made a number of changes to our services in Yorkshire so that, in normal circumstances, our timetable is better matched to the number of drivers we have available."